Red-hot midweek fixtures set to soar in Premier League

It is the June long weekend in coming days, which means a much-deserved break for our Premier League players and officials.

But that does not mean fans will be without hockey action, as we look at a red-hot line up of midweek men’s matches.

Melville remains atop the ladder – but looks to edge out a clear lead with a win over third-placed YMCC on Tuesday evening.  

The side looks to return to the pitch following the cancellation of the weekend’s match against Hale due to COVID.

A young, but talented YMCC have made a surprising bounce back after last year’s results, with Jacob Anderson’s nine goals for the season certainly helping the cause.

There is not much breathing room between the top four sides… with Melville, Westside Wolves and YMCC all sitting on 17 points, and Victoria Park just one behind on 16.

Reds and Hale both remain within reaching distance though, with just one win separating the sides from stamping themselves into the four.

Vic Park can stretch this gap with a win over Hale, when the two sides clash at Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University on Tuesday night.

Hale will look to bring a new bout of confidence into the game, having been defeat by Reds 5-1 in Geraldton two weekends ago, and missing out on a chance to take on Melville last weekend due to COVID.  

Liam Flynn continues to lead the Hale scoring charge, currently on 12 goals for the season after eight matches.

The Panthers are searching for redemption in this week’s match, after going down by just one goal in a 2-1 loss to YMCC.

Second-placed Wolves could steal the lead with a big enough win over eighth-placed Fremantle Cockburn on Wednesday.

Westside are coming off the back of a thrilling 5-4 win and a 4-2 win in the last two weekends against Whitford and Old Guildfordians Mundaring respectively.

Simon Benetti continues his lethal charge up front, on seven goals for the year already.

Last year’s grand finalists Reds could also shift their spot in the standings with a win on Thursday evening, when the side takes on WASPs at Aquinas College.

The side is looking to go four in a row, after winning their past three matches 5-2, 5-1 and 3-2 over Whitford, Hale and UWA respectively.

WASPs also come off the back of an in-form couple of weeks, bagging a 3-2 win over Fremantle Cockburn before a tidy 4-0 victory over Curtin University at the weekend.

Next week will see the remainder of the matches played out for the round, including Old Guildfordians taking on Curtin University, and Whitford up against UWA.

The women’s competition will see a single match played between the Suburban Lions and Melville.

Melville are yet to secure a win in 2022 and will look to fight for points against the Lions who sit one spot above the side on the standings.

After a narrow 3-2 defeat to a strong Westside Wolves side in their previous match, the Lions will look to kick-start a string of points-scoring performances.

Take a look at last weekend’s results here.